Catholic saints

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena on April 29th. One of only four women Doctors of the Church, Catherine’s writings and life continues lead people to Christ.

Catherine has been particularly important in my life. When my wife was pregnant with our youngest child complications existed. Several times throughout the pregnancy we feared having a miscarriage. We prayed daily for the safety of our unborn child and asked for saints Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Gerard of Majella for help and intercession. Avila Catherine Geraldine was born in late 2018. She was healthy!

Since then my family continues to look to Catherine of Siena as a role model and guide to God. The Doctor of the Church provides mystical insight into the Gospel and demonstrates the depths of God’s love.

Fierce Defender of Truth

Few individuals have displayed such tenacity for the truth as Catherine did in her life. During the 14th century, the Catholic Church endured one of the most corrupt periods. Known as the Avignon papacy, the popes succumbed to worldly powers, specifically under the influence of the French monarchy. Catherine wrote frequently to Pope Gregory XI. An example of her boldness is shown in a Letter to Pope Gregory, “But, I hope, by the goodness of God that you will pay more heed to His honor and the safety of your own flock than to yourself, like a good shepherd, who ought to lay down his life for his sheep.”

Love is a Divine Furnace

Another key theme in Catherine’s writing is describing how God love burns away sin. God appears to be absent in our life. Suffering seems mysterious. That was the way I thought before reading the saint’s works. Her description of love as a divine furnace helped me better understand how God allows suffering to draw us closer to Him.

Reflecting on my past pains I realized how my prayer life actually bloomed. Having recovered from the contracting COVID19 a couple weeks ago, I rediscovered the importance of relying on God. At first I was angry for getting sick. I took all the precautions. Prayers started out as laments and ended in hope.

God was using my sickness to cauterize my sinful inclinations and renew my prayer life and trust in Him.

Spiritual Sister

According to the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his General Audience on November 24, 2010, “Catherine (of Siena) is one of these and still today speaks to us and impels us to walk courageously toward holiness to be ever more fully disciples of the Lord.” Her intercession is powerful. I used to only think of saints as people too lofty to relate to. But reading the Sienese saint’s writings and her struggles I gained an intimate spiritual relationship with her—like a sister.

Her wit and spiritual knowledge helps me grow in holiness. Sanctity. That truly is the purpose of family. Catherine wrote, “There is no sin nor wrong that gives man such a foretaste of Hell in this life as anger and impatience.” Wow! Those words sound like they were written specifically for me. Parenting tests your patience. Daily. Hourly. And sometimes nearly every minute.

Catherine reminds me to trust in God. Her holiness shows through in her books and letters. I highly recommend looking to this Doctor of the Church for spiritual guidance.

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One of my favorite things to watch is to watch NFL football games. I even own a cheese head to don during Green Bay Packer games. Nothing in sports is more exciting than when a football game goes into overtime and for the first time in NFL history the 2017 Super Bowl went to overtime.

Extra regulation is needed in instances where teams end the fourth quarter in a tie. Neither team played well enough to earn the victory or bad enough to lose the game. I used to have a similar mindset when it came to the doctrine of Purgatory. Let me give 3 reasons for why I had this limited view when it came to arguably one of the more intriguing teachings of the Catholic Church.

Legalistic Outlook of Right versus Wrong

I thought for the longest time that if you followed the law [i.e. the Commandments] and your good actions outweighed your bad actions than you were on your way to Heaven after death. I viewed God as a divine accountant who tallied up all the good and bad that we committed in this live and granted us purgatory as an extra period for instances of ties.

Limited view of suffering

Until recently, I do not truly suffer much. I always thought that purgatory was a period of “time” after death whereby people got extra suffering to make up for the comforts they received in this earthly life. My view on this has since changed immensely. I came to learn that suffering has not only a redemptive, but a purgative quality to it.

On a quite practical level, my marriage and family life has schooled my in this topic. For example, my lack of patience especially during our children’s bedtime routine, causes me much suffering. Through prayer and spiritual guidance I learned that God is using my children to help me grow in the virtue of patience- and sometimes growing is painful!

Learned More about the Saints

Until a few years ago, I did not know that St. Therese of Lisieux suffering from tuberculosis and that St. John Paul II’s mother died a mere month per his 9th birthday and his father passed away about 10 years later. And yet, there was something different about these two individuals and really all saints in general—their faith grew in spite of the suffering and loss experienced.

Looking at the lives of the canonized saints I became aware that purgatory is not something that needs to begin after our earthly death. Rather, for them it begins in time and space. Because of this purgatory does not need to be limited to an “extra period” given since we failed to achieve sanctity in this life. We can start the process to being SAINTS today!

Conclusion

I will continue to write how my journey toward a more Catholic understanding of purgatory has changed my life for the better in future posts. St. Maria Faustina saliently wrote, “Jesus says; ‘My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.”

What is the deal with Catholics and their statues? Are they committing idol worship? Is this not against the 1st Commandment? These are common objections Protestants have against the owning of holy images. This article will be focused on showing three reasons why possessing sacred art and statues is something all Catholics should do and how they help build our faith.

Saint Statues Deepen Our Belief in the Incarnation

Having a statue of a saint in your home deepens your belief in God. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2141, “The veneration of sacred images is based on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. It is not contrary to the first commandment.”

Often, we forget that Jesus is 100% human along with being 100% God. His miracle stories in the Gospels and Resurrection sometimes overshadow the fact that Jesus Christ lived a human life—he slept, ate, and experienced emotion.

Possessing saint statues anchors our faith in the Incarnation because God became fully human. Holy statues provoke a certain tangibility, rawness, and realness of humanity. I experience this when I enter a Catholic Church with sacred art (icons and statues) of Jesus and the saints. If you’ve ever entered a church without such art you experience a dullness or staleness. Should not the same be true for your home?

St. John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation Familaris Consortio, “the little domestic Church, like the greater Church, needs to be constantly and intensely evangelized: hence its duty regarding permanent education in the faith” Keeping saint statues around your home will help elicit questions from your children, or visitors, about important figures in Catholic Church history.

Guides to God

A second key reason to have a saint statue in your home is tied closely with the first—saints help point you to Christ. The Catechism speaks of saints in paragraph 957, “Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself.”

Proper veneration of the saints leads us towards Christ, never away from Him. A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary located in your dining or living room and other saints around your home will only aid as a reminder—you are not alone in this journey toward Heaven.

Growing up, our statue of Mary in our dining room helped to remind me that she is our Mother and helps us get to her Son—Jesus. This reminder helped keep my eyes on Christ, especially during my teen years!

Family, Friends, Fellowship

Along with deepening your faith in the Mystery of the Incarnation and pointing you towards Christ, keeping holy statues will help foster fellowship. Traditionally, Catholics name children after a saint. The reason for this is because we honor and look to these holy men and women for guidance. You may have been named for more than a couple saints (if you include first, middle, and confirmation name!).

Among the highlights of marriage my wife and I anticipated, during our engagement was the naming of our children. All members of the family are called to holiness. We selected saint names whose lives exemplified heroic virtue and testimony of truth: Bernadette, Teresa of Avila, Matthew, Catherine of Siena, Maria Faustina, and Fabian just to name a few!

A simple way to grow in fellowship with your family’s patron saints is to celebrate their feast day. Owning a statue of a saint unique to your family will provide a more tangible connection to your holy friend. Gazing at the face of your patron saint, in the living room or bedroom, will help remind you daily of their holy life and strong love of God. I am comforted during a stressful day every time I see the image of Mary Queen of Peace in our living room.

Related Links

What are the qualities of a good doctor? Is it talent alone? Medical training? Ability to communicate? Or a combination of these skills plus others?

Medicine is a broad field and so is the term doctor. I always have been interested in the process of healing, treating, and combating infirmities. I even contemplated getting thought about pursuing a science degree in college! Lately, my wife and I have been re-watching Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning of the series. While I don’t condone the morality of many of the characters, I do admire their strong desire to best care for their patients.

Humanity Needs Healing

Humanity is a broken race in need of healing. People suffer from physical, mental, and spiritual illnesses. Outwardly and historically, physical ailments have been most obvious and most attention focused to resolve. As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, I am pleased with the efforts made in the 21st century to spread more awareness of mental illnesses. What has definitely fallen by the wayside is spiritual health.

Side effects from failings to treat spiritual health include the following: selfishness, greed, envy, laziness, lust, despair, and self-doubt to just name a few. We need spiritual healing just as much, actually more so than other kinds of healing. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 386,

Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile. To try to understand what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity as humanity’s rejection of God and opposition to him, even as it continues to weigh heavy on human life and history.

The false philosophy of materialism rejects the idea that humanity is in need of spiritual healing. This is a dangerous and slippery slope to follow. While Jesus is the Ultimate Divine Physician, God sometimes raises up particular saints whose writings provide prescriptions to remedy sin. These individuals are known as the Doctors of the Church. This third installment of Spiritual Surgeons will focus on probably one of the least known Doctors—St. Lawrence of Brindisi.

The Capuchin Franciscan’s ability to promote peace amidst strife, Scriptural shrewdness, and voluminous insight on the Virgin Mary rightly place him among the greatest spiritual specialists.

Deft Diplomat

According to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his March 23rd, 2011 General Audience, “Thanks to his mastery of so many languages, Lawrence was able to carry out a busy apostolate among the different categories of people.” Living during the 16th century, the Franciscan priest was a key figure in refuting the heresies of the Reformation. Benedict XVI described the diplomacy of Lawrence as effective against the Protestants arguments. “With his calm, clear exposition he demonstrated the biblical and patristic foundation of all the articles of faith disputed by Martin Luther.

Along with the German pope’s accolades, St. Lawrence maintained the peace promoted by his predecessor and spiritual father—St. Francis of Assisi. In his First Sermon for the Feast of St. Francis St. Lawrence declared, “‘God is wonderful in his saints’ for if the works of nature are marvelous much more marvelous are the works of grace.” At select points in history God raises up saints to combat the errors of the time. Just as St. Francis was raised to fight the corruption of the 12th century, St. Lawrence fought charitably against the errors of the Protestant reformation.

Bible Brilliance

Another gift the Holy Spirit granted St. Lawrence was an ability to interpret Scripture both skillful and faithfully.

The Apostolic Doctor’s Three Sermons for the Feast of St Francis displays his penchant for reading and applying the Bible. He makes frequent references to Old Testament figures such as Jonathan, Jacob, Daniel, Mordecai, and Moses to describe how God clothes a “lesser” figure with grace. Lawrence wrote in his First Sermon, “As the servant is sometimes dressed in nobler clothes than the Lord, so it will be permissible for me to say that Francis is the more wonderful Crucified than Christ, as God has so arranged for His greater glory.” Wow! His high praise of Francis definitely resonates with the biblical tradition that God selects the imperfect to testify to Divine Love and Truth.

Master of Mariology

Before researching this post, I honestly knew very little about St. Lawrence of Brindisi. As impressive as his diplomacy and academic knowledge are what impressed me most about the Apostolic Doctor is his mastery on the subject of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Benedict XVI referred to the Capuchin saint as “a highly qualified Mariologist” (March 23rd, 2011 General Audience). According to Cuthbert Gumbinger, O.F.M. Cap, S.T.D. in St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Apostolic Doctor, “Specialists in Mariology declare that the sixty-two sermons of Lawrence’s Mariaele form a complete summa of this matter, prominent in Marian literature not only at his time, but ever since!” (emphasis mine).

A reflection on the Annunciation demonstrates Lawrence’s masterful understanding of the significance of Mary. Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you.’ This is a new form of greeting, never heard by another, never encountered before,” Lawrence writes. What makes the Capuchin priest exemplary in his study of Mary is the combination of simplicity and unwavering truth. In his First Sermon in the Mariale, Lawrence reflecting on Revelation 12 tells us,

Moreover, for this has She been clothed with the Sun, that we might know, that just as the Sun, one though it be, nevertheless illumines each and every man and warms with its heat as if it had been founded by God for each individual man, for there is not one who can hide himself from its heat;94in the same manner the Virgin Theotokos is the Mother of each and everyone, thus common to all as the very own Mother of each.

Here in this sermon Lawrence seamlessly discusses all four major doctrines pertaining to Mary: Her Virginity, Motherhood, Assumption, and Excellent Virtue (Immaculate Conception). Never have I read such a clear, consistent, and intriguing homily on Mary.

Although St. Lawrence of Brindisi is not a household name like an Augustine or Therese of Liseux, his sundry of vocations throughout his life as a diplomat, teacher, preacher, and scholar are second to none!

Collect Prayer from Feast Day for St. Lawrence of Brindisi

O God, who for the glory of your name and the salvation of souls bestowed on the Priest Saint Lawrence of Brindisi a spirit of counsel and fortitude, grant, we pray, that in the same spirit, we may know what must be done and, through his intercession, bring it to completion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Facebook, Google, and Youtube are all familiar terms in people’s vocabulary in the 21st century. The spread of information through the Internet allows for people to keep in touch and to stay updated with news around the world in mere minutes sometimes even seconds.

The Catholic Church even has a saint dedicated as the patron of the Internet. His name is St. Isidore of Seville. As a bishop he brought unity to present-day Spain in the 7th century. Yes, you heard me right, Isidore lived in the 600s! Why was he chosen as patron of the Internet? Almost all our daily routines contain things not even invented his Isidore’s time!

In 1997 Pope John Paul II named Isidore as patron of the Internet. This is due to the structure of his writings was similar to that of databases. Isidore desired unity. He brought peace to a society devastated by years of war, and united all Christians in Spain. As Doctor of the Church, Isidore’s writing promote unity and healing for those suffering separation or doubts about the faith.

We can also use the Internet in a similar fashion to evangelize and advocate ecumenism among various Christians denominations. This can occur through teaching friends via social media about the Church or even educating yourself on Catholic doctrine.

Be in Good Company

According to Orpah Winfrey, “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” Timeless advice, St. Isidore definitely stood in good company. Pope Benedict XVI, in his General Audience on June 18, 2008, as ” He was a younger brother of Leander, Archbishop of Seville, and a great friend of Pope Gregory the Great.” His humility and fervor for knowledge helper him to better evangelize the Visigoths and other converts to Christianity at the time. The emeritus pope put it this way, “The wealth of cultural knowledge that Isidore had assimilated enabled him to constantly compare the Christian newness with the Greco-Roman cultural heritage ( General Audience on June 18, 2008).

Excellent Teacher

Commonly referred to as the Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages, Isidore acted as a true model of Christ the Teacher for the Catholic Church as a whole. Setting up rigorous schools and seminaries, the saint desired to properly form the newly converted Visigoths in the faith. The words of the 15th Council of Toledo, in 688, sums up Isidore’s character best, “The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore.”

Isidore, archbishop of Seville, ranks as an outstanding leader in the Church during the 7th century. His personal acumen along with the desire to catalogue human knowledge with precision makes him the perfect patron for the internet, computer technicians, and computer users!

While you surf the net, reflect on life St. Isidore. Seek to imitate his life by uniting Christians and all humans around you in worship of Jesus Christ.

Prayer Before Logging onto Internet

Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thy image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.